ParTEA Time :: A Tea Themed Birthday!
Our little Twinkle Toes turned 8 years old yesterday and so it was ParTEA time! Since our children generally just have one big “friends” birthday party (the rest are just with family), this was the one for Twinkle Toes. Originally we were going to do it last year, when she turned 7, but since her Daddy was on a fire assignment, and since we were remodeling and didn’t have a kitchen at the time, and since I happened to be hobbling around on crutches, we decided to wait until this year. Of course I over planned as usual, and I wasn’t able to get to everything on my list, but I had so much fun planning her special day!
! I made these cards using the Tea Pot from the Once Upon a Princess
cartridge, along with some dark pink, light pink and white card stock, a white fine tip paint marker and some strawberry stripes yarn – all of which I had around the house. We also made our own envelopes out of various colors of 12×12 scrapbook paper.
The inside of the card had all the information, and at the bottom it read:
Please dress up in your favorite teatime dress.
Hats and gloves are optional.
while serving the girls. This will be a memory of her older brothers that Twinkle Toes will cherish forever! 
Next I created a banner to hang in the window using my Cricut
with the George
(Font) and Winter Woodland
(Shapes) Cartridges, punching two small holes in the top of each card and stringing them all together with some light pink ribbon. 
For centerpieces I picked up a couple dozen pink roses (from Costco) and some Babys Breath (from Safeway) to place in a couple fishbowl style vases on the table. I bought the Roses over the weekend, so (with a vacation coming up) we’d be able to enjoy them for as long as possible. They make me smile every time I walk into the dining room!
Oh!! After seeing this idea recently on Pinterest, I had to pick up some pink Duct Tape for our water bottles. Isn’t this the greatest idea?! Unlike printed water bottle labels from your computer, these bottles of water wrapped with a strip of Duck Brand duct tape can go right in the ice tub looking pretty, without any ink bleeding!
I had pre-baked the cookies using a couple different sets of cookies cutters (Fox Run’s Tea Party Cookie Cutter Set
and Wilton’s Tea Party 3 Piece Cookie Cutter Set
) along with lots of icing and sprinkles. 
from Amazon, and boy was it hard to crack open… It was great, everyone got at least one turn!
cakes to use for a Cake Walk, in honor of Twinkle Toes’ patron saint – Saint Catherine of Alexandria! This would have been much easier if I owned more than just 2 heart shaped pans! 😉 We frosted them all white and then decorated them with a variety of pink and white sprinkles from our stash. 
I placed numbered squares in a circle on the floor. Each time, when the music stopped, I drew and called out a number. Whoever was standing on that numbered, picked it up and brought it to me before choosing the cake they wanted to take home.
It was such a fun game, and so worth the time it took to bake, frost, and decorate ALL those cakes!
For Treat Bags, I used a cute and easy idea from Family Fun, turning white lunch bags into Giant Tea Bags! Instead of stapling the string to the bag and tag, I punches a couple small holes, tying them together. Inside each bag the girls found one of the following sticker books: Tea Time Stickers, Glitter Roses Stickers
, or Old-Fashioned Roses Stickers. They then were able to use their bags for all of the pinata candy! 
Using White, Red/Pink and Green Candy Melts and this great little Tea Pot and Tea Cup Sucker Chocolate Mold
, I had planned to make each girl a lollipop or two, as one last party favor, but I ran out of time after making just four. Oh well! They made a pretty decoration and nice little treat for the boys. 
Marshmallow Teacup Cookies
I am making myself take a break from housework, packing, and planning to sit down for a few minutes, so I thought I would share another recipe from the birthday party yesterday. I found this idea through a google search, and I think it might have originated (at least online) here. I modified the recipe to be able to use ingredients I already had on hand. The girls and I had so much fun and they were so fast and easy to make!
Ingredients:
Round Cookies – We used Trader Joe’s Triple Gingersnaps
1 Package Marshmallows
Sprinkles
Lifesavers
Cookie Icing
Cocoa and White Candy Melts
Directions:
Dip the top of each marshmallow into some melted Cocoa Candy Melts and then into the sprinkles.
Cut all lifesavers in half. Dip the ends of each lifesaver half into melted White Candy Melts and attach one lifesaver “handle” to the side of each Marshmallow. Hold for a second or two to make sure it adheres to the marshmallow.
Cover the bottom/flattest side of each cookie with a little bit of cookie icing. (We used Trader Joe’s Triple Gingersnap Cookies. I had purchased a box of Vanilla Wafers, but they were too rounded on the top and kept tipping over. Ours were a little too small, but they worked… A slightly larger sugar cookie, that is mostly flat on the top would have been perfect.)
Place a marshmallow teacup in the middle of each cookie, pressing down lightly.
A Pretty Pink Tea Pot Cake Tutorial
Supplies:
2 Boxes of Cake Mix – I used White Cake Mix, without the pudding in the mix
2 cans of Strawberry Frosting
White Frosting – I used the same recipe from the Castle Cake
1 package of Neon Pink Fondant
3 wooden skewers and 4 toothpicks
1 package of Necco Wafer Candies
3 White Icing Roses – since I happened to have three in the cupboard
Soccer Ball Cake Pan
Using the Soccer Ball Cake Pan, I baked the two halves of the cake. (I actually made the cakes on Saturday, and stuck them in the freezer until Monday when I decorated them. I usually put the cakes in the freezer for 20 minutes or so before frosting, but frosting this cake completely frozen was the easiest ever. In fact, I don’t think I spent more than 20-30 minutes decorating, from start to finish.) Each half of the cake is made from one boxed mix. I followed the directions on the cake pan, and it took about 45 minutes to bake each half of the cake.
At this point, I was really worried about how on earth I was going to be able to turn these cakes into a tea pot! I cooled the cakes in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, after taking them out, I trimmed the top off to create a flat surface, flipping them over to their now flat side to cool completely. I saved the trimmed top of the cake to use for the lid of the tea pot.
Here is what the cake looked like, just before decorating. I started with the bottom layer, holding the flat side on one hand and frosting with the other. This was so much easier than trying to frost it on the cake platter, plus I was able to add a thin layer of frosting to the very bottom of the cake which secured it to the platter after it was refrigerated.
, which happened to be sitting out on the counter! I frosted the top pink and the sides white. Most of the cakes I had seen online used balls of fondant for the ball on top, but I remembered that I had a few white icing roses
leftover and thought I would try using one of those first. I loved how it looked! So I then added the two last roses to the base of the cake, as you can see in the completed photos. 
(a gift from my mother-in-law), I decided to attempt making them with the neon pink fondant package. As I stood staring at the cake, trying to figure out how to accomplish this – with one hand on my hip, unconsciously forming a handle – my sister Mary made he laugh as she started singing “I’m a little tea pot, short and stout…” I love it when my sisters visit!! 
Tip: I probably should have made the handle and spout at the same time that I baked the cakes, allowing them to dry. When the fondant is fresh and moist, it is very easy to mold, but when allowed to dry it becomes hard and won’t fall apart or lose it’s shape.
To complete the cake I used some white Necco Wafers (another thing that I just happened to have in my box of decorating supplies) and added “pearls” of white icing using a round icing tip to the base and the bottom of the lid.
I have so many pictures that I am dying to share with you all, but I will have to come back to that later. Hope you are all having a great day!
Happy 8th, Birthday Girl!
Back-to-School Schultütes
The past couple years I have surprised my kids with Schultütes on their first day of school. Our first day of school is not until September 6th and I usually wait until the night before to make the Schultütes, but since this week is going to be extremely busy, starting with our oldest daughter’s birthday party tomorrow followed by a family vacation, and since my original plans for Saturday were cancelled since Hubby was away on a fire assignment (He was sent out this past Wednesday and surprised us by arriving home early last night!!!), I assembled them on Saturday morning and placed them on the school room table. Now, for some reason, my children can hardly wait to start school! 😉
Usually I use wrapping paper to cover our Schultütes, but this year I just purchased colored poster boards from the Dollar Store (2 for $1) and tied a Patron of Students Back-to-School Treat to the top of each. I also made two mini Schultütes out of one additional piece of white cardstock for our two “pre-schoolers.”
This year I also had fun creating little notes (inspired by a google search) to go along with each of the school supplies and treats Shhhh!!! The contents vary by child, but here’s a sneak peek as some of the things that will be found inside:
for SnugglesA Patron of Students Back-to-School Treat!
You may have already seen this CUTE idea already, but when I ran across it for the first time last week, I knew I had to adapt them for our children, as an added treat to the Schultütes they receive on their first day of school. The idea was originally from the September 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes
These are basically just Rolos covered in two colors of scrapbook paper, some foil, and a Hershey’s kiss on the end.
To make your own:
- 3 1/2 ” x 4 1/2 ” yellow cardstock
- pinking shears
- 3 1/2″ x 1/2″ pink cardstock
- 1″ circles pink cardstock
- 3 1/2″ x 3/8″ aluminum foil
- Rolos and Hershey kisses
- adhesive – I used my Ultra Low Temp Glue Gun
Trim one short end of the yellow cardstock with pinking sheers (zigzag edge scissors), and score every 1/4″ lengthwise. Wrap around the Rolos and adhere. Next, wrap the pink cardstock at the opposite end, adding the pink circle to cover the exposed end of the Rolos. Cover the seam between the yellow and pink paper with the strip of aluminum foil. Add a Hershey Kiss to the top and you’re done! They are super easy to make and turn out adorable.
After I was done making the pencils, I decided to add a tags with little invocations to the various Patrons of Students, choosing a different saint for each of my children. I punched a hole in the top of the tag and attached them with some ribbon. You can download my document here.
Note: For those of you that would like to make this, but don’t happen to have any pink or yellow cardstock on hand, here is a quick and easy printable version of the wrapper that I created!
I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed year!
Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory,
and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion.
I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Stocking Up
A Visit to Crater Lake
On our way home we picked up pizza for dinner and had just started to eat when our neighbor drove up to alert us to the fire that had just started… It wasn’t exactly the way we would have liked to end our visit, but such a blessing to have him here at the same time! Hopefully it won’t be too long before we are blessed to see him again.
Catholic New Media Awards
I just recieved an email from a friend letting me know that Catholic Cuisine and Shower of Roses are both on the ballots for the Catholic New Media Awards. I had no idea!
Thank you to those of you that submitted nominations!
Voting began on Wednesday, August 3 and ends this coming Friday, August 26 with winners to be announced at CatholicCon on August 28.
Catholic Cuisine is listed in this category:
- Best Group Blog
Shower of Roses is listed in these categories:
- Best Blog by a Woman
- Best Written Blog
- Most Informative Blog
- People’s Choice Blog
I was disappointed to see that most of my own favorites are missing… However, there are lots of other interesting categories, including some new ones this year, and many great Catholic bloggers and websites listed.
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
I had this post half finished Wednesday night, but wasn’t able to finish it for some reason – as I frantically tried to figure out what to pack in the event that we were evacuated, and pray for the safety of our home, church, and neighbors. Even though it is Friday, I am going to post it anyways.
The boys and I drove down to town last night to see the other side of the ridge. As of this morning the fire had increased to 425 acres, but is 40% contained. Hopefully it will be completely contained soon!
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